Iran’s armed forces at ‘peak readiness’ to respond to any threat: IRGC general

The deputy commander for coordination of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force has stressed that Iran’s armed forces are fully prepared to respond to any threat, amid heightened regional tensions.

“The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran always stand at full readiness,” Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi told reporters.

Commenting on the mass participation of Iranians in the funeral ceremony for Major General Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior IRGC commander who was assassinated last month along with the Hezbollah chief in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon, Masjedi said it proved the people’s steadfastness and determination to continue the path of martyrs.

“We will not back down in the face of martyrdom [of our commanders] and will take vengeance on the Zionist entity for the blood of the dear martyrs and the oppressed people of Palestine and Lebanon."

He also described media reports on the whereabouts of Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the commander of the IRGC Quds Force, as “psychological warfare.”

Media outlets had claimed that Qaani might have been wounded, or even martyred, in a massive Israeli strike that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine in Beirut's densely populated southern neighborhood of Dahiyeh early this month.

But Qaani last week reappeared at the funeral of Nilforoushan in Tehran and put all rumors to rest.

“The enemy’s recent efforts are psychological warfare meant to worry the people,” Masjedi said.

FM: ‘All Israeli targets’ identified for retaliation in case regime attacks Iran

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warns that Iran has “identified all its targets” in the occupied territories for a retaliatory attack against Israel.

Since early October 2023, Israel has been waging brutal two-front aggression that has killed at least 42,603 people in the Gaza Strip and 2,464 others in Lebanon so far.

Over the same period, the usurping regime has also assassinated several resistance leaders, including Hamas’s political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

In support of Palestinians in Gaza, resistance groups have launched retaliatory attacks on Israeli targets and vowed to keep fighting until the Gaza onslaught ends.

In response to Israel’s acts of assassination against the resistance front’s top leaders, Iran carried out Operation True Promise 2 earlier this month. During the operation, Iran launched some 200 high-speed ballistic missiles at the Israeli entity’s military, espionage and intelligence bases.

Tel Aviv has threatened to attack Iran, and Tehran has vowed to give a "crushing" response to any provocation.

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